Selling in England, buying in Scotland

Edenlynn

Hi everyone,
My husband and I would like to sell our house in Kent and move to Scotland this year. We have visited Scotland many times and it's definitely the place for us. In fact we're going next month to look at what's on the market.

We own our home free and clear with no mortgage. We're looking to buy a house of equal or less value than the one we own so we shouldn't have any money owing when we're finished moving, taking into account solicitors/estate agent fees, moving costs, stamp duty/LBTT etc.

I understand that we have to have the money for our new home available on the day of contract exchange. Does this mean that we have to complete the sale on our English home first before completing a buy in Scotland? Any help appreciated! TY in advance.

cr1mson

The money doesn't get handed over in Scotland until the day the property is purchased however the issue you have is that once an offer is accepted then you are committed in Scotland. The person who is buying your house in England won't be committed and could pull out.

You may be happy to live with that risk but what about selling house in England first and renting for a while in Scotland? This would give you a chance to pick a property at your leisure.

davidmcn

cr1mson wrote: »

once an offer is accepted then you are committed in Scotland.

Once missives are concluded then you are committed. That can be long after an offer is "accepted" - it's typical these days for buyers to wait until their solicitor has a mortgage offer (and concluded missives for a sale) before they are willing to commit themselves. It won't necessarily be a big issue for the OP but they will probably have to be upfront about what their position is, and it might make them less attractive if there are competing buyers.

googler

Edenlynn wrote: »

I understand that we have to have the money for our new home available on the day of contract exchange. Does this mean that we have to complete the sale on our English home first before completing a buy in Scotland? Any help appreciated! TY in advance.

You need to have the money available on the Date of Entry, also known as the Settlement Date, and by 'available' I mean in your solicitor's hands, ready to transfer to the selling solicitor's account. Money should be transferred to your solicitor before the entry date - how long before will depend on your solicitor.

When you make an offer in Scotland (through a solicitor), you specify the date of entry as part of the offer. This effectively decides when you're going to move in at an early stage. It's possibly to move the date post-offer, but rare.

Conclusion of missives, the event upon which you become legally committed to buy, and the seller legally committed to sell to you, should happen days, or weeks before the date of entry. There's no such thing as 'contract exchange', and no one document that forms the contract. The contract is the combination of your offer letter, and the missives that follow, exchanged between your solicitor and the selling solicitor.

The trouble you'll face is that you need to be ready to commit to the timescales expected of you in Scotland, but things don't move the same way in England - not the same level of commitment.

Ask more if you want or need to.